This invention relates to devices for signaling to a remote observer that a mail delivery has been made to a standard rural mailbox.
It is desirable in a rural area or in any situation where the mailbox is located some distance from the addressee's residence to have a mail delivery signal visible at some distance from the mailbox. With such a signal in place, a quick look toward the mailbox from the safety and comfort of the residence will inform the addressee that a delivery has been made, so the addressee may be assured of retrieving the items soon after their delivery, without having to make frequent excursions to the box itself. Such a signal is particularly desirable where the addressee is elderly or handicapped or is a family with an infant; or when the mailbox is very distant from the residence or situated in an unsafe place, such as near a dangerous roadway.
A standard rural mailbox is typically tubular in shape, and includes a flat floor, side walls and a top wall merged to form a continuous arcuate enclosure, a wall covering a closed rear end, and a front wall, or door, pivotally mounted to permit opening and closing of a front end, where delivered mail is received and retrieved. Around the edge of the door typically is a flange which overlaps the front edges of the side and top walls. The door is generally held closed by a frictional latch and catch bar, and is left closed except when an object is being placed into, or removed from, the box.
Each time a delivery is made to such a box the delivering person opens the door, and so a number of approaches to mail delivery signal devices have been proposed, in which opening the door releases a visible device from a set position to a generally erect display position, the latter position therefore indicating that a delivery has been made.